Taking the Time for Fun and the Workout

I went to the gym and had a great lifting session and then came home for lunch. After eating I was about to enter the blogosphere and Rebecca was about to go back to her studies when I looked out the window and noticed what a beautiful day it was here in Red Bank. We grabbed the football and went outside and tossed the pigskin around for 15-20 minutes. It was a short break but it was a lot of fun and the heelers laid in the grass happy to have the whole family outside together!!

Warm-Up:
Airdyne, 2 minutes
PVC Passthrough, 20 repetitions
PVC Wraparound, 20 repetitions
Foam Roller Work
Weight Training:
Hang Power Clean and Power Jerk, 3 repetitions each at 50%, 60%, 65% and 70%
Clean, 3 repetitions at 60%, 2 repetitions at 70%, 75% and 80%, 1 repetition at 84%, 88% and 88%
Clean Pull, 3 repetitions at 90% and 95%, 2 repetitions at 100% and 105%
Back Squat, 3 sets of 3 at 84%, one set of 5 repetitions at 70%
Mobility:
Banded Shoulder Stretches
Quadriceps Stretch
Hamstring Stretch

Have a Great Day!!

Done with Politicians, Gun Violence, and Defending Islam for Now...Have FUN!! Oh and the Workout of the Day!!

After looking at my blog postings for the last few days I have decided to not be so damn heavy. Enough worrying about crazy politicians, religion and guns. It is the holiday season and I am excited to be back east among family, friends and great dogs!! For the remainder of this week at least I will refrain from too many heavy subjects!!

Warm-Up:
Dog Walk, 30 minutes
Turkish Get-Up, 3 minutes continuous

Workout:
For Time:
Air Squat, 80-60-40-20 Repetitions
AbMat Sit-Up, 40-30-20-10 Repetitions
Hand Release Push-Up, 20-15-10-5 Repetitions

Mobility:
Quadriceps and Shoulder Stretches

Have a Great Day!!

Cardiorespiratory Output Day and the final review of Crossfit

Today will be a mellow cardio output day. Just a day to move, stretch, do some abdominal work and not touch a weight!!

I would absolutely recommend that if you are interested in trying Crossfit, you should check out your local affiliate and see if they offer a free week trial. I have not mentioned the name of my local Crossfit affiliate because I was not sure exactly what this review would look like. I will say now though that I highly recommend Crossfit Fixx in Tucson, Arizona for the following reasons: 1) Excellent instruction on proper form. 2) Scalability and adaptation to varying levels of fitness and experience that helps to promote self-confidence. 3) And maybe the most important... a fun and supportive community of people that encourage and challenge each other. If during your free week trial you do not experience these aspects at your local affiliate, you may want to look elsewhere.

Today's quote is from Joe Namath:

"When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have fun, you can do amazing things."

Cardiorespiratory Output Day:
Spin Bike Interval Training, 45 seconds high intensity, 2 minutes low intensity, totals of 43 minutes
AbMat Sit-Up, 100 repetitions
Foam Roller Work

Have a Great Day!!

Fun and Leg Day!

A good friend of mine texted me yesterday and said that he wanted to bring his sister over to workout. His sister is from Brooklyn and was visiting Tucson so they both came over along with my buddy's wife. I told him that I would throw together and evening circuit for leg day that would be a little over 25 minutes long.

Generally speaking I make my circuits in a way that folks can challenge themselves as much or as little as they want. An example would be walking lunges. You can do bodyweight walking lunges for one minute during the circuit or you can grab a couple of kettlebells and add 70 pounds to those lunges. The goal for me is for people to feel like they have had a good workout and are excited to come back again in the future. When the circuit was done this evening we were all tired from the exertion but my buddy's sister paid me the highest of compliments by simply saying, "That was really fun!"

Today's quote is from Michael Jordan:

"Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game."

Workout: Legs
Morning Session:
Warm-Up:
Jump Rope, 100 repetitions
Step-Ups, 20 repetitions
Air Squats, 25 repetitions
Weight Training:
Front Squats, 3 sets of 6-10 repetitions
Barbell Walking Lunges, 3 sets of 10 repetitions
50m Weighted Sled Drag, 3 repetitions
Weighted Standing Calf Raises, 3 sets of 15-20 repetitions
GHD, 3 sets of 10 repetitions

Evening Circuit: Perform each exercise in order for one minute to complete a set. Three sets total.
Lateral Shuttle Run
Walking Lunges
Standing Calf Raises
Prisoner Step-Ups
Abdominal Crunches
Goblet Squats
Stiff Leg Deadlifts

Have a Great Day!

Miracle Cure-All Discovered! Come one, come all!! Oh and the WOD!

Want to mentally feel better, have more energy, look great and sleep like a log? There is no drug or pill that will do all of this for you. There is no snake oil salesman here. If you are a man or woman, young or old, it doesn’t matter. The simple solution is EXERCISE. Walk, run, lift weights, do push-ups, play basketball, dance… DO SOMETHING and do it every day. Here are my top five reasons to exercise every day:

Great Reason Number 1: Keeps You Physically Healthier!  I know what you are thinking, “Well DUH?!” Sure, exercising makes you a healthier person, but do you know how amazing it really is? People that exercise regularly are less likely to suffer from heart disease, some cancers, type two diabetes, less likely to suffer a stroke and as we age less likely to fall or get arthritis. And it doesn’t take much. Get out and do something 30 minutes per day. Check out this video by Dr. Mike Evans titled 23-1/2 Hours.

No Brainer Reason Number 2: You Can Lose Weight When You Exercise! When you workout you burn calories. When you workout HARD you burn even more calories. As you exercise more and more you transform your body and increase muscle mass. Muscle burns calories more effectively and so the awesome cycle begins. You lose fat, build more muscle and become lean and mean. Do the little things everyday and you will notice the difference: Walk to the store instead of driving, take the stairs instead of the elevator, do a set of push-ups before eating lunch at work, etc.

The “No Way? That is AWESOME!” Reason Number 3: Exercising Turns that Frown Upside Down! Did you have one of those days at work where it feels like the people you dealt with were actually trying to crush your soul? Don’t go get hammered, go for a run. Lift weights. Ride your bike. Exercising releases chemicals in your brain like serotonin and endorphins. People with high levels of serotonin are usually more upbeat and just happier. Endorphins are what give people the “runner’s high”. They act like opiates in response to pain and stress and can lead to that feeling of euphoria! People who exercise are less likely to suffer from depression. And of course, when you exercise you look good. And when you look good you FEEL good! Looking good can boost your self-esteem and your self-confidence! “I am awesome!”

Seriously Kick Ass Reason Number 4: ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ When you lay down to go to bed, how long does it take you to fall asleep? It seems that exercise has a rather weird relationship with sleep. Working hard later in the afternoon seems to be best. Your hard work kicks in your metabolism, you burn calories and your core body temperature rises a couple of hours before bed. Then after you have wrecked yourself, your body temperature begins to drop back to normal. That drop in temperature seems to be what tells your body it is time to hit the hay. Simple, exercise and sleep better.

And For the Best Reason of All, Number 5: Go Have FUN! Play some hoops, go dancing, go join a kick ball team at your local recreation department! Get outside and walk the dog, go for a swim or ride your bike. Do it for 30 minutes a day! As my university professor and mentor Dr. Gary Nussbaum once told me, “Get out and do SOMETHING everyday that reminds you that you are a physical being”. So many people think that exercise has to be painful and unpleasant. Just go have fun and move!

WOD: Lifting for the Back and a Good Long Dog Walk:

Dumbbell Pullovers

Single Dumbbell Bent-over Row

Dumbbell Up-Right Row

Weighted Pull-ups

Dumbbell Snatch

Horizontal Suspension Strap Pull-ups

2 mile Walk with the Dog carrying a 35 lbs. Day Pack

Have a great day!!